2014 Gibson Johnny A Signature Antique Gold w/ stinger

Johnny A's signature model from the Gibson Custom Shop has established itself as a modern classic, and with this 2014 Johnny A Standard with Bigsby in Gold you will get sound and tone in spades.

Great looks are assured by this gold finished deep figured maple top on a 336-style hollow mahogany body for enhanced tone and comfort, while a pair of 57 Classic humbucking pickups yield everything from sweet, creamy neck tones to all the snarl and growl necessary for stinging leads. Add a Bigsby vibrato and a 25.5-inch scale length for firm lows and shimmering highs, and you directly understand that this Johnny A will become one of the most versatile guitars in your arsenal.

The guitar is in great condition, all original and complete with the original Gibson case, COA Certificate Of Authenticity and paperwork as pictured.

"JazzTimes, July 18 2024"
Not long ago, the guitar’s namesake, a Massachusetts-based instrumental artist with two chops-heavy albums on the Favored Nations label, came across a lonely prototype guitar in Gibson’s Nashville Custom Shop. It wasn’t intended for production, but, recognizing the instrument’s potential, Johnny A. set things into motion with Gibson to turn the prototype into the guitar of his dreams.

Hollow all the way through, the Johnny A. Signature’s thin body comes across as the renegade child of a three-way encounter between a Les Paul, an SG and a 335. Together, the devilish double cutaway, the honey-dipped finish and the Bigsby tremolo system give the guitar a striking, stare-demanding presence that is at once modern and retro. Closer inspection reveals the body’s art-deco elegance: a slightly swooped, black-plastic pickguard and thoughtfully carved, bowed tone slots. The deco touches continue up the 22-fret neck, with mother-of-pearl inlays split in three, evoking the look of a seashell, and a headstock inlaid with a fancy fleur decoration, also in pearl. Plus there’s that sloped Gibson logo, which despite being the standard trademark on nearly every contemporary headstock by the company, still appears stolen out of the 1930s. All of this tasteful design work is tied up with a couple yards of creamy, pale-yellow binding, inlaid with faux tortoise-shell fret markers where it runs along the neck.

As much as there is to admire about the look of the Johnny A, the real joy comes from playing it. The thing wants to play itself, it seems. The guitar exhibits expert craftsmanship, which is no doubt partial reason why it’s so comfortable. Its scale length (25 1/2 inches) is comparable to that of many archtop guitars, which may be a factor in why this guitar lets me move along the neck with such ease. (The scale length also contributes to the tightness of its low-end sound; there’s no flab) String resistance isn’t slinky like that of a shredding metalhead’s guitar, however-the strings snap back into place quickly when releasing a bend. Additionally, the neck, shaped from a single piece of mahogany, is one and 11/16 inches wide at the nut (a standard Gibson measurement found on most SGs, 335s, Les Pauls, etc.) and should feel comfortable to anyone who already plays a Gibson; the neck’s profile is a hair beefier than that of an SG Standard.

At the heart of the matter is tone, and by now it should come as no surprise to find out that this guitar sounds every bit as good as it looks and plays. The key word here is variance, as Johnny A. and Gibson have built a guitar capable of delivering sounds that range from standards-set jazz to soul-jazz to blues to rocking blues to roots rock to hard rock. Hollow bodies have no shortcomings in the warmth department, but thin hollow bodies (especially ones like this that are 100 percent hollow) do have a characteristically edgier sound than deep, boxy archtops or heavy solid-body guitars like a Les Paul. So getting something along the lines of that easygoing, Barney Kessel/Jim Hall mellowness out of the Johnny A. takes more than just plug and play-taking the edge off with the two humbuckers’ separate tone and volume knobs provides pleasing results. Still, even when it’s set to sing sweetly, a confident attack on any string can wake any drifting audience-the Johnny A. is built to sting when you want it to.

Playing in a four-piece band with drums, electric bass and Fender Rhodes I found the Johnny A. proved to be the perfect tool for our movements from subdued improvisations to just-a-little-dirty boogie rock. Blending into textured ensemble playing was no problem, nor was rising above it all for a stringy solo or a singular wail. Sounds like a minor point, but the pickup selector switch has a lot to do with it. Johnny A. has the switch placed just above the tone-control knobs and set at a 45-degree angle, right in line with the movement of the picking/strumming hand. And the Bigsby offers yet another way to mess with the sound, from subtle dips and lifts in pitch to shaking surf expressions-all without worry of sending the strings out of tune.

Fact is, Johnny A’s ultimate guitar happens to be mine as well. I had a hunch that would be the case when I first read about the guitar in Guitar Player. And unless you’re one of those guitarists who won’t touch electrics, I can’t see you not loving the way this guitar looks, plays and sounds as well. While it’s still an investment worth thinking over, I’m convinced that the Johnny A. Signature is worth its price, whether you have the money to spend now or whether you’d have to sell, save or steal to afford it.